Take six motivated young riders, some helpful volunteers, a course in West Flanders with cobble stones, some nasty hills and a wind that blows from the North.
You have all ingredients for a day at a cycle race that you never forget.
Those six riders came, of course, all from New Zealand. On the start list you could tag them with following numbers
85 James FOUCHE, National Road champion New Zealand 2018/2019, National TT champion 2019, former Oceania Junior champion 2016 and recently winner of the KOM at the Tour of Antalya
86 Ben HAMILTON, National Junior Road champion 2017, finished Junior Worlds in Bergen
87 Ethan BATT, 4th at Nationals TT U23
88 Matias FITZWATER, experienced and our road captain, finished recent Young Coaster Challenge
89 Liam CAPPEL, raced a lot in US and Belgium, finished recent Young Coaster Challenge
90 Paul WRIGHT, finished recent Young Coaster Challenge
The "Kattekoers",the official name for the Nation Cup Gent-Wevelgem U23 started in Ieper on the beautiful market square only few hundred meters away from the Menen Gate. A historical place, every single evening at 8pm the last post is played to remember all victims of WWI.
It was not raining, that is already a bonus when you race the Spring classics, but there was a nasty wind coming from NE. That made it a hectic race right from the start. As soon as we left the city of Ieper onto the N8, a strong wind was blowing and some riders got problems to keep up with peloton.
Luckely the boys listened well and started on the first line in Ieper.
Then the Moeren, open field, windy. Lot of crashes and riders all over the place.
Ben had a bad day (he told me even the night before that he didn't feel well), so what I expected happened soon. He was our first man to let the peloton go. And the bad luck was not over then as we found after approx 40km our road captain Matias on the side of the road after a crash. We didn't take any risks and left him behind in the ambo, luckely later in the evening the verdict wasn't too bad. Nothing broken.
With two more crashes, everyone of the team had his problems. But Paul was getting on top of that a puncture, really at the wrong moment and wrong place. Wind was blowing hard, the field was split in to hundred pieces. So pretty hard to get back on for Paul and Liam, but they did. In the mean time the hills followed each other quickly, Baneberg (300m - 20%, Kemmelberg (1400m - 17%), Monteberg (1000m - 13%). They all had to be climbed twice.
Finally 19 riders got away, with two of our men, James and Ethan who worked hard to keep James up there for the final. Deep in the final the front group split again and James was strong enough to keep up with the six other riders that went to the final. Ethan then had his job done.
With two kilometers to go four riders got away, leaving James and two others behind, altough if the Belgian in the group would have done a bit of work, it would have been a sprint with seven. But James admitted that he was "cooked" by then too.
I was only dissapointed about the fact that the comisaires took the peloton out of the race, so close to the finish. Ethan, Paul, Liam really deserved to be on the results list with a place not a DNF.
And apparently (so I heard) because the pro race was coming to close. (seven races on the same circuit! On the same day, not easy to organise)
It was a great result and the work of the six riders!
The atmosphere the night before at the B&B in Zonnebeke,
the diner at the restaurant, all as a group that wanted to go
for these so needed points in the Nation Cup.
Next race is on April 13th, start in Oudenaarde for the U23 Ronde van Vlaanderen.
See you then!
signed by,
A proud DS
You have all ingredients for a day at a cycle race that you never forget.
Those six riders came, of course, all from New Zealand. On the start list you could tag them with following numbers
85 James FOUCHE, National Road champion New Zealand 2018/2019, National TT champion 2019, former Oceania Junior champion 2016 and recently winner of the KOM at the Tour of Antalya 86 Ben HAMILTON, National Junior Road champion 2017, finished Junior Worlds in Bergen
87 Ethan BATT, 4th at Nationals TT U23
88 Matias FITZWATER, experienced and our road captain, finished recent Young Coaster Challenge
89 Liam CAPPEL, raced a lot in US and Belgium, finished recent Young Coaster Challenge
90 Paul WRIGHT, finished recent Young Coaster Challenge
The "Kattekoers",the official name for the Nation Cup Gent-Wevelgem U23 started in Ieper on the beautiful market square only few hundred meters away from the Menen Gate. A historical place, every single evening at 8pm the last post is played to remember all victims of WWI.
It was not raining, that is already a bonus when you race the Spring classics, but there was a nasty wind coming from NE. That made it a hectic race right from the start. As soon as we left the city of Ieper onto the N8, a strong wind was blowing and some riders got problems to keep up with peloton.Luckely the boys listened well and started on the first line in Ieper.
Then the Moeren, open field, windy. Lot of crashes and riders all over the place.
Ben had a bad day (he told me even the night before that he didn't feel well), so what I expected happened soon. He was our first man to let the peloton go. And the bad luck was not over then as we found after approx 40km our road captain Matias on the side of the road after a crash. We didn't take any risks and left him behind in the ambo, luckely later in the evening the verdict wasn't too bad. Nothing broken.
With two more crashes, everyone of the team had his problems. But Paul was getting on top of that a puncture, really at the wrong moment and wrong place. Wind was blowing hard, the field was split in to hundred pieces. So pretty hard to get back on for Paul and Liam, but they did. In the mean time the hills followed each other quickly, Baneberg (300m - 20%, Kemmelberg (1400m - 17%), Monteberg (1000m - 13%). They all had to be climbed twice.
With two kilometers to go four riders got away, leaving James and two others behind, altough if the Belgian in the group would have done a bit of work, it would have been a sprint with seven. But James admitted that he was "cooked" by then too.I was only dissapointed about the fact that the comisaires took the peloton out of the race, so close to the finish. Ethan, Paul, Liam really deserved to be on the results list with a place not a DNF.
And apparently (so I heard) because the pro race was coming to close. (seven races on the same circuit! On the same day, not easy to organise)
It was a great result and the work of the six riders!
The atmosphere the night before at the B&B in Zonnebeke,
the diner at the restaurant, all as a group that wanted to go
for these so needed points in the Nation Cup.
Next race is on April 13th, start in Oudenaarde for the U23 Ronde van Vlaanderen.
See you then!
signed by,
A proud DS
No comments:
Post a Comment